Udder Stuff

There are some non-Open loose ends to get to, so let's have at it...

I Saw It On TV - Or not, as relates to the U.S. Women's Open:

At least in the metered markets, the U.S. Women’s Open was a ratings dud.

Final round coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open pulled a 0.6 overnight rating on FOX Sunday, down 40% from last year (1.0), down a tick from 2015 (0.7) and the

tournament’s lowest final round overnight since at least 1996. 

Sung Hyun Park‘s win earned a lower overnight than the final rounds of the Women’s PGA Championship two weeks earlier (0.7) and the Women’s British Open last year (0.8). 

This is the first time since 2002 that the U.S. Women’s Open has not delivered the top golf overnight of the year. That year, ABC earned a slightly higher overnight for a one-hour telecast of the Dinah Shore Classic (2.3 to 2.2). 

This year was the fifth of seven in which the U.S. Women’s Open has failed to crack a 1.0 overnight rating. The only exceptions were last year and Michelle Wie‘s win in 2014 (1.7). Wie was forced to withdraw due to injury at this year’s tournament.

Is anyone the least bit surprised?   Not only was it the leaderboard-from-hell in terms of the U.S. audience, but we're also not accustomed to looking for golf on Fox.  

On a more interesting note, you'll recall that last week news broke that Sky Sports, ironically just as they announced a channel devoted exclusively to golf, had lost the contract for the coverage of this year's PGA Championship.  Now comes this news:

The first half of the Masters is in danger of joining the US PGA Championship in being lost to UK television.

As of now, there is no deal in place for live coverage of the opening two rounds of golf's most iconic tournament less than eight months before it is next staged. 

Sky Sports has shown those days exclusively since 2011 but its contract expired after April's tournament and there has been no sign of it being renewed.

Hey, it doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday, so what's with the kvetching?

Here's Shack's take on it:

This latest news, while not immediately affecting American viewers, suggest we are on the verge of seeing a major shake up in how golf tournaments are seen.

It's hard to see where The Masters goes except either to BBC for four days or to a streaming/app only version. Or, dare I say, testing out a pay-per-view model.

Could this also be the case for the PGA of America in the long term? Perhaps, though it's still a head-scratcher to not have their UK broadcast rights settled a month out from their championship. 

We've seen signs in recent years that golf's leaders believe they will have to create very different ways to reach audiences going forward, but given that golf fans tend to be five years behind on most trends, might some of their sponsors think they're getting ahead? Or is this the perfect time to test out new models on a relatively small but sophisticated market? Is that enough rhetorical questions for a Friday?

Pay-per-view?  In golf?  That's very hard for me to imagine....

Golf is an interesting test case for the cord-cutting subject.  On the one hand, it's got a wealth of content that can't be captured on the "linear product", as Jay Monahan put it.  Whether its' featured groups, specific holes or just outside the broadcast window, there's way more content than anyone can possibly watch.

But on the flip side, it's, to be charitable, an older crowd not typically technology-savvy....  So, will they find it and do they care?  My guess is no on both counts....

Venue Variations - This item from The Scotsman last week has two interesting factoids, the first of which will be no surprise:

Donald Trump’s course on the outskirts of Aberdeen will almost certainly not be hosting

the 2019 Scottish Open.

It was claimed recently that Trump International Golf Links was currently the favoured venue for the £5.5 million event in two years’ time.However, that possibility was essentially dismissed today by Aberdeen Asset Management chief executive Martin Gilbert due to the issue of “politics”. 

Speaking at Dundonald Links, where the event is taking place this week, he said: “We’d love to go back to the Aberdeen area at some stage (Royal Aberdeen hosted the event in 2014) and, if we went back, we’d look at various courses. “There are various criteria that come in. Royal Aberdeen was a great success, although some of the players thought it to be a bit too tricky.

Tricky?  Royal Aberdeen remains a men-only club, so they will not dare....  But our Shack gets a bit of a tingle up his leg at the other news dropped, to wit, that the leading contender is none other than Cruden Bay:

Even more exciting was Gilbert's revelation that European Tour officials have scouted out Cruden Bay and, with a few alterations, believe it can be made to work. Gilbert said the the course would not sport the 14th and 15th holes and their blind shots, and might be replaced by by Old Tom Morris designed holes on the club's St Olaf course. 

While former host Royal Aberdeen is a candidate, Gilbert made clear that an all-men's club course would not happen. The Scottish Open venue now annually hosts both the men's and women's editions of the event. In hearing him speak to a small group of press today, I can attest to his enthusiasm for Cruden Bay as an acceptable solution.

Given that it's one my favorite courses on the planet, I concur, as long as modifications for the tournament do not change the course's character. (Recent changes to the 9th by Tom Mackenzie improved one of the weakest holes there.)

It is one of the most charmingly eccentric links to be found, and the players would adore it.  For those with a little time on their hands, I'll link you to my post on our return visit to Cruden Bay in 2015, if only for you to scroll through the photos.

And while we're on the subject of wonderfully-eccentric links, take a gander at this Ashley Mayo item on North Berwick:

North Berwick is the most interesting golf course you've never heard of

As the home of the original Redan, it's a stretch to call it unknown....  and her description of a Redan seems to miss the larger point of it all, but she does have some great photos, including this of the 13th green:

You play to the green over that low stone wall....  I told you it was eccentric.  Of course, Cruden Bay has a blind Par-3, and you don't see those every day.

Scroll through the photos to experience the charm of these old links.

Shack's post also reminds of the wonderful British Rail posters of the day.  Many of the golf courses were built to generate train ticket sales, but they are wonderfully-evocative pieces of art:

I always wanted to frame a bunch of these for a man cave.

Great stuff in my book.

Shall we move on?

R.I.P., William Woodward Johnson - I'm quite late on this, but the former Augusta National Chairman, better known as Hootie, passed last week.

STATEMENT FROM CHAIRMAN BILLY PAYNE REGARDING THE PASSING OF HOOTIE JOHNSON

Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament are today mourning the loss of William Woodward “Hootie” Johnson, our beloved Chairman Emeritus. Hootie passed away this morning at the age of 86, leaving behind a legacy of exceptional service to our Club, our Tournament and the game of golf. 

Hootie was named Chairman of Augusta National on May 1, 1998. During his eight-year tenure, we always admired his genuine and unrelenting respect for the traditions and vision of the Club and Tournament established by our Founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts.

While most of the obits have focused needlessly on the Martha Burke nonsense, it was a notable eight years for the club:

Johnson served as Augusta National Golf Club’s chairman from 1998 to 2006, and under his direction the famed Alister Mackenzie-Bobby Jones layout was lengthened to 7,445 yards. During his tenure, 14 of the 18 holes were altered as Augusta National led the charge against advances in golf ball and club technology that threatened to make older courses obsolete. 

Johnson also modified the qualifications for invitation to the tournament, initiated 18-hole television coverage and began the practice of announcing the club’s donations to charity.

There is much to quibble with in those course alterations, and I have no clue what that charge against technological changes references.  There was a thought that The Masters would be best positioned to introduce a tournament ball, but that was a big ask from those too timid to do it.

But how crazy is it that it wasn't until Hootie that we got 18-hole coverage?

Golf Emojis - Dammit, I don't like it any more than you, but we do need to appeal to the millennials, and it beats blaring music.  Sam Weinman takes us through some examples, with these seemingly self-explanatory:

👆: One up.

👇: One down

🖕: Why would you even ask me that?

What else you got, Sam?

🤑: When you win the closeout, press, AND the junk.

🍗: We need to see you putt that.

🎲: We can try to get on without a tee time, but it's iffy. . . .

🐢: We're never playing with him again.

Oh, so that last one is Ben Crane's emoji..... Got it.